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Aug 2008

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2,480

Originally Posted by Shawn

What is odd is the Steelers rarely make this mistake. The tape on Adams tells a tale of a guy with all the tools, and never put it together.

Maybe I'm an optimist but I saw improvement from Adams as the season progressed. He's a terrific run blocker who needs work in pass protection. IMO, saying he won't improve in that area is a little short-sighted.

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Dec 2012

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Pittsburgh

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1,089

How can anyone of us make a valid evaulation of Adams and Gilbert since they haven't played an extended amount of time? In order to make judgement one way or another I would think we need to see them play a season and hopefully without injury.
From the little time we seen them in action the jury is still out whether they can be an asset to the line, or be a liability.
Even the experts get it wrong when they evauate prospects with thier projections, some players who had fantastic college play don't pan out in the Pro's and some players fall under the radar and have success in the Pro's.

They both had a tough starts to their pro career with inconsistent play, then we seen some flashes of good play from Adams especially in run blocking. Gilbert held his own at RT after he had some snaps, but then both fell to injuries.
When they compete in camp and play in the preseason, we'll have a better idea who will play either position but until we see them play for an extended amount of time the evaluation process will continue.

Usually it takes a few years to evaulate how good a draft pick is, in this case it may be sooner since they got playing time their rookie season, which should help them going into this season. Its the same case with Beachum, the good thing for him is he also got playing time.
IMO, our O-line is young and has potencial to be pretty good, to see that play out continuity is at the forefront, having the same 5 players start will go a long way to determine how good this line can be.

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May 2008

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12,148

Originally Posted by Shawn

What is odd is the Steelers rarely make this mistake. The tape on Adams tells a tale of a guy with all the tools, and never put it together.

And yet, Adams was considered to be a consensus top offensive tackle in the 2012 draft...most draft ratings had him as the 4th or 5th best OT at worst...the Steelers, apparently, had a first round grade on him as far as talent...

Now, indubitably, failing the drug test is stupid...flat out...

That being said, I don't think that a very late 2nd round pick is too soon for a top 5 tackle prospect...

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May 2008

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16,955

Originally Posted by SteelBucks

Maybe I'm an optimist but I saw improvement from Adams as the season progressed. He's a terrific run blocker who needs work in pass protection. IMO, saying he won't improve in that area is a little short-sighted.

I agree. He is a rookie, but the good thing is he is on the offense so he got a chance to play and the coaches saw how he handled real live game action. Now they have something to develop an improvement plan from. Adams also got the taste of live action so he knows what to expect and how he has to respond.

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May 2008

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12,148

Originally Posted by Oviedo

I agree. He is a rookie, but the good thing is he is on the offense so he got a chance to play and the coaches saw how he handled real live game action. Now they have something to develop an improvement plan from. Adams also got the taste of live action so he knows what to expect and how he has to respond.

I agree.

It was just like 2011, when Cortez Allen earned some playing time on defense...he got a taste of live action and performed well in 2012 when his number was called...

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Hope Adams makes as big an improvement this season as Cortez did last season.

At this point, I'm more worried about Gilbert, the one-man wrecking crew, protecting Ben's blind side...

No need to worry. Everyone wants to look at last year and get convenient amnesia that Gilbert had a very solid rookie campaign and was the team Rookie of the Year. I'll mark last year up to a combination of bad luck and not knowing how to deal with the off season. Perhaps add a little he thought he had it all figured out because of his rookie success. I expect to see a much better Gilbert in '13.